Possessed to Knit

Maria's Deepest Purple Wollmeise Socks Completed

Here are my completed 100% Merino Wollmeise socks in the Maria's Deepest Purple colorway.  I used my 2.25 mm Addi Turbo circular needles for all but the heels and toes where I used my 2.00 Addi Turbo circular needles.  I have had holes develop quickly in my Saami 100% Merino Wollmeise socks, so I added extra plying twist to this yarn with my spinning wheel before I knitted these socks.  I also made them a little shorter as I have noticed my socks stretching out a bit after wearing them.  I hope I do not have to reknit the heels and toes on these uniquely colors socks. 

Wollmeise Schwammerl Socks Completed

Here is Al modeling his new Wollmeise Twin (80% wool/20 % nylon) socks in the Schwammerl (mushroom) colorway.  I used my 2.5 mm (size 1) Addi Turbo 40" circular needles and 72 sts for all but the short-row heels and toes where I used my 2.00 mm (size 0) Addi Turbo 40" circular needles.  The yarn colors puddled a lot, but Al doesn't mind as he likes the camouflage colors.  I have had issues with my 100% merino Wollmeise socks getting holes in the heels and toes and I am hopeful these Wollmeise Twin socks will last longer. 

Skandal um Rosi Socks Completed

Here are my Wollmeise Twin (80% merino/20% nylon) socks in the Skandal um Rosi colorway.  I also managed to procure some Schwarz twin for the heels and toes.  Lucy Neatby recommends working a different yarn for sock heels to keep the stripe pattern going continuously so I did that with these socks.  I used my size 0 Addi Turbo 40" circular needles and 72 sts with the Norwegian Purl for the k2, p2 cuff.  I had a problem with the 100% merino Wollmeise wearing out at the heels and toes after a few months.  I am optimistic that the addition of nylon in the Twin will improve the durability of these socks.

Iris Sibirica Socks Completed

Here are my completed Iris Sibirica socks.  I finished them a while ago, but it's hard to be too thrilled about wool socks when it is so hot outside.  I used my 2.25 mm Purpleheart Darn Pretty dpns for all but the heels and toes where I used my 2.00 mm Signature Needle Arts 5" dpns.  I hope these last longer than my Saami socks.  I ended up re-knitting all the heels and toes on those socks.  I like the vibrant Wollmeise colors and want the socks to last more than a few months.  I have only worked with the 100% superwash merino Wollmeise.  I do have some Wollmeise Twin (80% wool & 20% nylon) in my stash that I have not knitted up yet.  I really like the striping on the heels and toes and I just might end up wearing them to next year's MSWF.

I would like to add a special thank you to my friend Kate.  She wrote a very sweet blog about the Spinner's Shawl that I made from her alpaca, Cher, and she even has cute baby pictures of Cher, too.  Her blog can be found here.

Wollmeise Hat for Al

Here is the hat I knitted for Al.  I managed to snag a Gemischt (mixed) bag of Wollmeise during one of Claudia's daytime updates which included a skein of 100% merino in the Merlot colorway.  Cream Fortissima sock yarn is the contrasting yarn.  It has 25% nylon and is a bit fuzzier than the Wollmeise.

I started with a provision crochet cast-on of 88 sts using a size F hook and a 3.5 mm 16" circular needle.  I knitted 4 rounds then picked up the provisional sts every other stitch creating a k1, p1 rib on size 2.25 mm 16" circular needles.  I worked the k1, p1 rib for an inch and switched to 2.75 mm 16" Addi Lace needles following the Lusekofte Cap pattern from Hats On! by Charlene Schurch with 2 additional pattern repeats for a total of 176 sts.  I also added some plain rounds to the upper and lower Fair Isle bands, but I could have left them out as the hat is just a little bit longer than I wanted it to be.  The pattern stitches were coming out too tight with my knitting thimble.  I achieved much better results with the Wollmeise in my right hand and the Fortissima in my left hand.  I divided the hat into 11 sixteen stitch sections, decreasing every other round down to 11 sts for the crown.  The gauge is about 8.5 sts and 9 rows to the inch.